As illustrated in FIG. 1, a typical prior-art all-terrain vehicle (ATV) denoted generally by reference numeral 100 has a straddle-type seat disposed on an upper portion of the vehicle's frame. A driver 110 usually rests his feet on a pair of footrests 140 that extend laterally from a lower portion of the frame between the front and rear wheels. The footrest 140 is connected between a front fender 150 and a rear fender 160. Although a passenger 120 can squeeze onto the straddle-type seat behind the driver or sit on a rear rack 130 above and slightly forward of a rear wheel axle 170, as shown in FIG. 1, this arrangement is generally uncomfortable for the rear passenger especially when the ATV traverses rough terrain and is strongly discouraged by manufacturers because the vehicle is less stable. Furthermore, as depicted in FIG. 2, there is not much room on the single pair of footrests for both the driver's feet and the passenger's feet, leading to further discomfort and passenger instability. Moreover, when a passenger attempts to share the single pair of footrests with the driver, the passenger's toes have a propensity to point outwardly from the vehicle. The passenger's toes are thus prone to hitting rocks, trees, bushes and other obstacles as the ATV traverses rough terrain. Many problems existed with this configuration. In an after market passenger seat kit 101 an optional foot peg 145 can be positioned on steel tube 147 optionally added between rear rack 130 and the frame. In other such conventional situations, it could be appreciated from FIG. 3, the feet of the passenger cannot touch the driver footrests at all because of the higher passenger sitting position. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the after market rear passenger seat 101 installed on rear rack 130 is a distinct straddle-type seat with armrests 104 and a backrest so that the passenger sits above and slightly rearward of the rear wheel axle 107. The unsupported passenger feet may be uncomfortable for the passenger and does not provide the support needed when the vehicle moves on an uneven terrain.
Accordingly, a two-seater all-terrain vehicle was developed with a longer wheelbase A and a rear passenger seat 1300 for comfortably and securely accommodating a rear passenger. The two-seater ATV was the subject of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/475,511 entitled ATV WITH IMPROVED DRIVER POSITIONING AND/OR MULTI PASSENGER CAPACITY filed Jun. 4, 2003; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/393,114 entitled ATV WITH IMPROVED DRIVER POSITIONING AND/OR MULTI PASSENGER CAPACITY filed Jul. 3, 2002; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/384,822 entitled ATV WITH IMPROVED DRIVER POSITIONING AND/OR MULTI PASSENGER CAPACITY filed Jun. 4, 2002; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/331,252 entitled ATV WITH IMPROVED DRIVER POSITIONING AND/OR MULTI PASSENGER CAPACITY filed Nov. 13, 2001; U.S. Regular patent application Ser. Nos. 10/647,782, 10/647,778, 10/647,786, 10/647,780, 10/647,785, 10/647,781, 10/647,779, 10/647,788, 10/647,787 and 10/647,777 all filed on Aug. 26, 2003. All the above-mentioned documents are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
The prior-art extended wheel base two-seater ATV provides footrests for the rear passenger that could be improved. On prior-art extended wheel base two-seater ATVs, a pair of fixed foot rests (not shown) are disposed on each side of the vehicle's frame. These passenger footrests cannot be moved. However, the pair of passenger's footrests extending from either side of the frame could more adequately and comfortably support the passenger's feet. Furthermore, the footrest could be foot pegs attached to the frame at a fixed height and thus could hardly provide a more adequate ergonomic for short or tall passengers. Moreover, when there is no passenger riding on the vehicle, the passenger foot pegs take up valuable potential cargo space particularly due to their higher position.
Thus, there is a need for an improved pair of footrests for passengers on two-seater all-terrain vehicles.